denicalis

Latin

Etymology

From dē- (“de-”) +‎ nex (“death”) +‎ -ālis (suffix forming adjectives), Cicero’s etymology, or perhaps from dēnī (“ten each”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [deː.nɪˈkaː.lɪs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [de.niˈkaː.lis]

Adjective

dēnicālis (neuter dēnicāle); third-declension two-termination adjective

1. (fēria, diēs) Set aside for mourning and purification from death.
   • c. 43 BCE, Cicero, De Legibus, 2.22.55:

     denicales, quae a nece appellatae sunt, quia residentur mortuis

     the denicales, which are named from nex [death], because they are spent in idleness for the dead

Usage notes

The dēnicālēs were nine days of mourning observed after the burial of a family member, during which no work could be undertaken.

Declension

Third-declension two-termination adjective.

	singular			plural
	masc./fem.	neuter		masc./fem.	neuter
nominative	dēnicālis	dēnicāle		dēnicālēs	dēnicālia
genitive	dēnicālis			dēnicālium
dative	dēnicālī			dēnicālibus
accusative	dēnicālem	dēnicāle		dēnicālīs dēnicālēs	dēnicālia
ablative	dēnicālī			dēnicālibus
vocative	dēnicālis	dēnicāle		dēnicālēs	dēnicālia

References

• “denicalis”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “denicales feriae”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Dyck, Andrew R. (2004), A Commentary on Cicero, De Legibus, University of Michigan Press, →ISBN, pages 392–93